Chapter 2: Review of Literature

How do you determine if a topic can be researched?

• There are many studies that are done for the topic

• You have access to participants

• 
  You have resources to collect and analyze information

• You have access to all the data on the topic

How do you know if the topic should be researched?

• The study will advance your personal goals

• Scholars will be interested in the topic

• The study will add more to the data that already exists for the topic

• The research will add to literature

What is the purpose for a Literature Review?

• Shares the results of the study and relates to a larger dialogue in literature

• Provides framework for the importance of the study and benchmark for comparing results to other findings

• It will add to the already existing literature by providing more information

• Studies need to add to the body of literature on a topic

In quantitative studies, researchers use literature to:

• Provide direction to the research questions and
  hypotheses

• Introduce a problem

• The literature ends the study

• Introduce and describe the theory that will be used

• Examine the usefulness and compare results with existing literature

Uses of literature in a Qualitative structure

• The literature appears in the separate section

• The literature frames the problem in the introduction of the study

• The literature ends the study

• Provides direction to the research

The use of literature In a Mixed Methods Structure

• In either a quantitative or qualitative approach

• Only is consisted with the mixed methods approach

• Consistent with either the quantitative or qualitative approach

• Relative to the intended Audience

• Identify key words
• Search databases
• Identify about 50 research reports in articles or books
• Collect those that are central to your topic
• Design a literature map
• Draft summaries of relevant articles
• Write a literature review, organizing it by important
concepts
Creswell, Research Design 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2023 13

What is a literature map?

• It contains steps on how to do a literature review

• It is a paper that contains on literature reviews you have done

• It shows a summary of all the search only YOU have done for a topic

• It is a visual summary of existing research on a topic

What are the 3 structures of a literature map?

• Series of squares, triangles and circles

• Hierarchical Pattern

• Flowchart Layout

• Series of circles

– Inductive and evolutionary in nature
– The definition of terms may appear later in the written
report, perhaps in the data analysis